Tooleybuc Sporting Club Nyah Pacing Cup, Nyah, Saturday

One of the most valuable pots on offer this weekend in the harness racing action is the $35,000 Tooleybuc Sporting Club Nyah Pacing Cup at Nyah on Saturday evening.

A couple of trainers, A L Peacock and G F Douglas, look sure to have big chances as between them they have six of the 13 runners.

The best of A L Peacock’s competitors could well be Don Franco, who has a 33 percent strike rate! On the 24th September he ran a personal best when landing a hotly contested race at Tabcorp Park and, as a result, connections are happy to let him contest another big prize. It might just be that this gelding by Live Or Die has turned over a new leaf as before his win last month his form had just tailed off slightly. He could be the sort of horse who, now with the confidence of that last success behind him, could string two or three very big runs together at once; as mentioned, he has an impressive win record overall.

To decide which is the better of G F Douglas’s two representatives will be driver Daryl Douglas, who at the moment has a double engagement which will no doubt be sorted on the night of the race. Whichever he decides to drive is likely to be a shorter price in the harness racing betting odds but by looking at form on the run-up to this race there is no doubt that Stirling Charmer NZ brings a solid look to the table. The horse has managed to win a couple of times recently and has been clocking better times than his stable companion. He is also better drawn and could well prove hard to peg back if leading early on.

Of the others, Vito Vito and That’s Mister Ali, who are both on the second line, could go well if getting the breaks and possibly sneak into a place. However, to conclude, the first two mentioned are more ‘win material’ and we will favour A L Peacock’s runner, but only just!